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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. fall — the season
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. pound — a weight
  6. spring — the season
  7. fall — to drop
  8. spring — of water
  9. band — a music group
  10. fall — to drop
  11. swing — to play on
  12. spring — a coil
  13. band — a ring
  14. race — humankind
  15. race — a contest
  16. scale — size or range
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. swing — music
  20. scale — in music
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. race — the arms race

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com